LA JOLLA, Calif. – A busy week is on tap for the UC San Diego women's tennis team with four matches on the docket. The Tritons (5-6) will host Ball State (9-2) and Utah State (3-3) in non-conference action this week. UC San Diego welcomes the Cardinals to Northview Tennis Courts on Tuesday at 3 p.m. and the Aggies on Wednesday at 1 p.m. The Tritons dropped a 6-1 decision to Ball State a year ago, and will be taking on Utah State for the first time.
Later in the week, UC San Diego will hop on the Sun Diego charter bus and head north for a pair of Big West matches. The Tritons (1-2 BW) will play at UC Santa Barbara (1-10, 1-0) on Saturday morning and Cal Poly (4-5, 2-1) on Sunday afternoon.
DETAILS
Match 12
UC San Diego (5-6, 1-2 Big West) vs. Ball State (9-2, 0-0 Mid-American)
Tuesday, March 7 | 3 p.m.
Northview Tennis Courts | La Jolla
Match 13
UC San Diego (5-6, 1-2 Big West) vs. Utah State (3-3, 0-0 Mountain West)
Wednesday, March 8 | 1 p.m.
Northview Tennis Courts | La Jolla
Match 14
UC San Diego (5-6, 1-2 Big West) at UC Santa Barbara (1-10, 1-0 Big West)
Saturday, March 11 | 11 a.m.
Arnhold Tennis Center | Santa Barbara
Live Video
Match 15
UC San Diego (5-6, 1-2 Big West) at Cal Poly (4-5, 2-1 Big West)
Sunday, March 12 | Noon
Mustang Tennis Complex | San Luis Obispo
Live Stats
ATTENDING UC SAN DIEGO HOME MATCHES
Attending Triton tennis matches at
Northview Tennis Courts is free, but note that parking permits are required seven days per week at UC San Diego.
ABOUT UC SAN DIEGO
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
Overall: 5-6
Big West: 1-2
Home: 3-3
Away: 2-2
Neutral: 0-0
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-2
Streak: L1
ITA Ranking: NR
ABOUT BALL STATE
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
Overall: 9-2
Mid-American: 0-0
Home: 6-1
Away: 3-1
Neutral: 0-0
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: W7
ITA Ranking: NR
ABOUT UTAH STATE
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
Overall: 3-3
Mountain West: 0-0
Home: 2-0
Away: 0-3
Neutral: 1-0
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: W1
ITA Ranking: NR
ABOUT UC SANTA BARBARA
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
Overall: 1-10
Big West: 1-0
Home: 0-4
Away: 1-3
Neutral: 0-3
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-4
Streak: L10
ITA Ranking: NR
ABOUT CAL POLY
Roster |
Schedule |
Stats
Overall: 4-5
Big West: 2-1
Home: 0-2
Away: 3-2
Neutral: 1-1
vs. Ranked Opponents: 0-0
Streak: W3
ITA Ranking: NR
ON THE MOVE
After 20 seasons playing as an NCAA Division II team, the entire athletics program is in its third year of a four-year transition to NCAA Division I, culminating in full DI status as a member of
The Big West for the 2024-25 academic year. At that time, all sports will be eligible for conference and NCAA postseason play.
LAST TIME OUT
In a match scheduled just 15 hours prior to first serve, UC San Diego returned to the court for the first time in 12 days, falling to visiting Pacific by a 7-0 score Saturday morning at Northview Tennis Courts.
LAST TIME VS. BALL STATE | MARCH 9, 2022
UC San Diego swept doubles action but Ball State rallied for a 6-1 victory over the host Tritons at Northview Tennis Courts. The Tritons swept doubles play to take a 1-0 lead in the match. Paired together for the first time since Feb. 20, freshmen
Katelyn Vu and
Naomi Nguyen made quick work of their opponents at No. 2, winning 6-1 over Livia Likacs and Hannah Davies. At No. 3, junior
Rachel Wagner and freshman
Adriana Tabares clinched the doubles point for UC San Diego with a 6-4 win over Elena Malykh and Emily Desai. At first doubles, senior captain
Anu Bhadada and sophomore
Ella Pachl completed the doubles sweep with a 7-6 (4) win over Amy Kaplan and Emma Peeler.
LAST TIME VS. CAL POLY | FEB. 11, 2022
Visiting Cal Poly took two of three doubles matches and swept singles action on the way to a 7-0 victory over UC San Diego at Northview Tennis Courts. UC San Diego's top doubles tandem of junior
Sophie Pearson and sophomore
Ella Pachl won 6-3 at No. 1 but the Mustangs earned the doubles point thanks to wins at the second and third position.
LAST TIME VS. UC SANTA BARBARA | APRIL 15, 2022
No. 25 UC Santa Barbara spoiled UC San Diego's senior day with a 4-0 victory over the Tritons in a Big West match on Friday afternoon at Northview Tennis Courts.
NAOMI FOR THE NGUYEN
Sophomore
Naomi Nguyen has won three of four singles matches at the fifth position since shifting there last month. Against Sacramento State's Julia Moraes, Nguyen was a tidy 6-0, 6-2 winner (Feb. 10). Playing her third match in four days in the conference opener against Long Beach State (Feb. 11), Nguyen won 6-2, 6-4 over Beach's Sheena Masuda, who was previously unbeaten in singles this spring. The following week, Nguyen was a 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 victor over UC Davis' Kaia Wolfe in the Tritons' first conference win.
CARDIAC KIDS
Early this season, the Tritons are proving they can't be counted out. UC San Diego trailed 3-1 at Grand Canyon (Jan. 15) and vs. Nevada (Jan. 21) but the Tritons came back to win each of those matches, 4-3. Freshman
Grace Gamal at No. 3, senior
Sophie Pearson at the fifth position, and sophomore
Katelyn Vu at sixth were all singles winners in the comebacks.
VU NAMED UCU ATHLETE OF THE WEEK | JAN. 23
Sophomore
Katelyn Vu earned UCU Athlete of the Week honors for the second time in her career after she helped lead the Tritons to a dramatic, come-from-behind, victory over Nevada (Jan. 21). Playing at No. 6, Vu topped Nevada's Mathilde Sarcelet, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 as the Tritons beat the Wolf Pack, 4-3. In doubles action, Vu and senior
Rachel Wagner were victorious over Nevada's Sarcelet and Wiem Boubaker, 6-3.
KATE'S CLUTCH
Sophomore
Katelyn Vu is developing a reputation for coming through in the clutch. She clinched the Tritons' win at Grand Canyon (Jan. 15) at No. 6 with a three-set win. As a freshman last year, Vu clinched UC San Diego's win over San Diego Christian.
DEVIKA TAKES OVER
Prior to the Tritons' home opener at Northview Tennis Courts (Jan. 21), junior
Devika Pantpratinidhi conducted a Takeover on the team's Instagram account.
PACHL, PEARSON GARNER BIG WEST ACCOLADES IN 2022
For the second straight season, the UC San Diego women's tennis doubles tandem of sophomore
Ella Pachl and junior
Sophie Pearson were recognized as All-Big West Honorable Mention on Wednesday. Playing primarily at No. 1 singles, Pachl also garnered All-Big West Honorable Mention for her singles play.
Playing exclusively at the No. 1 position, Pachl and Pearson combined for five wins in doubles play in 2022 – including a 3-1 mark against Big West opponents before Pearson suffered a season-ending injury on Feb. 26.
MAKING THE GRADE
The Tritons have continued to excel in the classroom. UC San Diego posted a 3.48 team grade point average during fall quarter. Seniors
Anjni Agrawal and
Tiara Nourishad along with freshman
Cincy Chen each posted a perfect 4.0 GPA.
POSSIBLE STARTERS
Here are the possible Triton starters for Tuesday's match based on the team's last Big West match on Feb. 20 at Cal State Fullerton:
Doubles
1.
Ella Pachl/
Sophie Pearson
2.
Kelly Leung/
Naomi Nguyen
3.
Rachel Wagner/
Katelyn Vu
Singles
1.
Kelly Leung
2.
Ella Pachl
3.
Grace Gamal
4.
Sophie Pearson
5.
Naomi Nguyen
6.
Katelyn Vu
TEAM CAPTAINS
UC San Diego seniors
Sophie Pearson and
Rachel Wagner are this year's team captains.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN
This year's Tritons are composed five seniors, three juniors, five sophomores and two freshmen. UC San Diego graduated three from last year's squad.
MEET THE NEWCOMERS
In its third year as an NCAA Division I program in The Big West, the UC San Diego women's tennis team announced its incoming class of two freshmen and a transfer. Freshmen
Cincy Chen and
Grace Gamal, and sophomore
Kelly Leung (Univ. of Washington) are the newest members of the Tritons women's tennis team.
COACH LAPLANTE IN 44TH SEASON
This season marks the 44th of legendary head coach
Liz LaPlante in charge of the UC San Diego women's tennis program. She is the longest-tenured coach on the Triton staff. LaPlante has led UC San Diego to four national championships (1985, 1987, 1989, 1994) and five national runner-up efforts (1982, 1984, 1990, 1995, 2000), all at the NCAA Division III level, as well as seven California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) banners, all in succession between 2004-10, before the league stopped sponsoring tennis. The four national titles are still the third-most in Division III history. LaPlante's all-time dual-match record stands at 603-333. She has recorded winning seasons and posted double-digit victory totals in all but six of her full seasons. Her teams have had 20 or more wins on five occasions.
UP NEXT
UC San Diego is back in action at Northview Tennis Courts on Thursday, March 16 to host San Francisco in a non-conference match at 1 p.m.
WHY THE TRITONS?
The Triton is described as the offspring of Poseidon and Amphitrite, a demigod of the sea with a lower part of the body like that of a fish. It is known as a mighty and fierce sea warrior. Given UC San Diego's close proximity to the Pacific Ocean and its connections with the world-famous Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the Triton became our mascot in 1964.
UC SAN DIEGO ATHLETICS LAUNCHES WEEKLY PODCAST
As part of UC San Diego's transition to Division I, the Athletics Department launched a weekly podcast,
Tritoncast. Produced by UC San Diego Athletics Communications, Tritoncast features in-depth interviews with UC San Diego personalities including scholar-athletes, alums, coaches, and administrators. Triton fans will get an inside look at the UC San Diego Athletics Department as the program transitions to NCAA Division I and the Big West Conference. New episodes of Tritoncast are available each week on the most popular podcasting apps, including Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Audible, iHeartRadio, Pandora, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn, and Vurbl. In addition, each episode can be heard and downloaded on UCSDTritons.com. For individual show information and listen links, follow Tritoncast on Twitter
@Tritoncast.
GET SOCIAL WITH UC SAN DIEGO TENNIS
Keep up with the Tritons all season long on social media through
Twitter and
Instagram. The team's handle is @ucsdwtennis.
FOR THE YOUNGER CROWD
Got some young Triton fans in your family? If they are eighth grade or under, check out the
Junior Triton Club. Membership includes a free t-shirt, admission to over 100 UC San Diego home athletic events, and much more!
GEAR
For the latest Triton apparel and accessories,
click here.
About UC San Diego Athletics
After two decades as one of the most successful programs in NCAA Division II, the UC San Diego intercollegiate athletics program has begun a new era as a member of The Big West in NCAA Division I. The 23-sport Tritons earned 30 team and nearly 150 individual national championships during its time in Divisions II and III and helped guide 1,400 scholar-athletes to All-America honors. A total of 83 Tritons have earned Academic All-America honors, while 38 have garnered prestigious NCAA Post Graduate Scholarships. UC San Diego scholar-athletes exemplify the academic ideals of one of the world's preeminent institutions, graduating at an average rate of 90 percent, the highest rate among public institutions in NCAA Division I or II. For more information on the Tritons, visit UCSDtritons.com or follow UC San Diego Athletics on social media @UCSDtritons.
